Association of alcohol use and multimorbidity among adults aged 40 years and above in rural South Africa.

May 15, 2023

Contributors: Mafuno G Mpinganjira,Tobias Chirwa,Chodziwadziwa W Kabudula,Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé,Stephen Tollman,Joel Msafiri Francis

We assessed the prevalence of reported alcohol use and its association with multimorbidity among adults aged 40 years and above in a rural, transitioning South African setting. Findings could potentially inform alcohol interventions integration in the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions. We analysed data from the first wave of The Health and Ageing in Africa-a longitudinal Study in an INDEPTH community (HAALSI) nested within the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems, conducted between November 2014 and November 2015 (n = 5059). We computed descriptive statistics and performed univariate analysis to determine factors independently associated with multimorbidity. Age, Body Mass Index, education, sex, and household wealth status and variables with a p-value < 0.20 in univariate analysis were included in multivariable Modified Poisson regression models. Any factors with a p-value of < 0.05 in the final models were considered statistically significant. The first wave of HAALSI was completed by 5059 participants aged 40 years and above and included 2714 (53.6%) females. The prevalence of reported ever alcohol use was 44.6% (n = 2253) and of these 51.9% (n = 1171) reported alcohol use in the last 30 days. The prevalence of HIV multimorbidity was 59.6% (3014/5059) and for multimorbidity without HIV 52.5% (2657/5059). Alcohol use was associated with HIV multimorbidity among all participants (RR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.08), and separately for males (RR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00-1.10) and females (RR: 1.06, 95%CI: 1.02-1.11). Similarly, alcohol use was associated with multimorbidity without HIV among all participants (RR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.09), and separately for males (RR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00-1.12) and females (RR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01-1.11). Reported alcohol use was common and associated with HIV multimorbidity and multimorbidity without HIV among older adults in rural northeast South Africa. There is a need to integrate Screening, Brief Interventions, and Referral for alcohol Treatment in the existing prevention and treatment of multimorbidity in South Africa.
© 2023. The Author(s).

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ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Mafuno G Mpinganjira,Tobias Chirwa,Chodziwadziwa W Kabudula,Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé,Stephen Tollman,Joel Msafiri Francis
Mafuno G Mpinganjira

Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tobias Chirwa

Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Chodziwadziwa W Kabudula

MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé

MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Stephen Tollman

MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Joel Msafiri Francis

Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. joelmfrancis@gmail.com.